Bath and beauty products are often made with women in mind, but men need soap and grooming products too! With Father’s Day right around the corner, now is the perfect time to create something for the guys. One of my favorite handmade gifts for men is beard oil. It’s incredibly easy to make; simply mix together skin-loving oils such as jojoba oil and argan oil. You can see the process in the Beard Oil Soap Queen TV video below. To save even more time, the Beard Oil Base is already mixed and ready to customize.

Father’s day is June 17th. Do you need a gift idea? This shaving soap recipe couldn’t be easier using our foaming bath whip with a couple additional ingredients. The foaming bath whip is a very gentle and versatile base (check out our favorite fluffy frosting recipe and sugar scrub). The bath whip has a great lather and a super creamy and and bubbly texture in the shower (ladies – you’ll love this for leg shaving). This easy recipe whips up a luxurious and soothing shaving soap with chamomile extract to help soothe Dad’s face. It’s scented with Blue Man Fragrance Oil which is perfectly sweet and masculine (base notes of Black Patchouli blended with Orange Peel, Sparkling Mandarin, Coriander Leaves, Star Anise and Venezuela Tonka).

When was the last time you soaped with Tamanu Oil? Tamanu Oil comes from the nut of the Tamanu Tree, found inside the inedible fruit that is only produced once a year. Melanesian and Polynesian communities have been using the oil for years to heal a wide variety of skin issues including acne, rash, warts, and bug bites. Its anti-fungal properties alleviate itch and are wonderful for athletes foot and helping to tame body odor. Tamanu Oil has a very earthy smell and slightly grainy texture. It smells sort of like nutty, musky dirt. It’s not unpleasant but it is surprising if you’ve never smelled it before. Check out this eye serum we created featuring Tamanu!

Not only is it great for pampering your face, but we decided it was the perfect ingredient for our Man Soaps too. We paired it with Leather fragrance oil for some extra masculine flair, and added some light exfoliant with a bit of Orange Peel Powder. When we started to make the recipe in our 2 pound wood log mold, we realized that we had over-estimated our soap yield and wound up having enough soap left over for a second technique! I love happy accidents!

If you have never made cold process soap before, I strongly suggest getting a couple of basic recipes under your belt before diving in. Check out Soap Queen TV on Cold Process if you want to get started with cold process. It’s a 4 part series that will take you through the basics (and be sure to watch the episode on Lye Safety). If you’re a book worm, Bramble Berry also has some helpful reading on the cold process technique.

ONE: Suit Up! Safety gear on: that means long sleeves, rubber gloves, and goggles. Carefully mix your lye water by adding the lye to the water (never the other way around). Mix until the lye is fully incorporated into the water and the water is clear, then set aside.

THREE: Carefully add the lye water to the oils, stick blending until you reach light trace. Add 1 oz Meadowfoam Oil, 1 oz Tamanu Oil, and 3.5 oz Leather Fragrance Oil and mix until just blended, taking care to not allow the soap to get to thick trace.

TIP: Does your Tamanu appear to have little specs floating around in it? No worries! That’s normal for the oil. Just pop it in the microwave on 10 second bursts with the lid off, and they should go away after one or two rounds.

FOUR: Divide your batch into four parts. Two of those parts are going to be 2.5 cups, and the other two parts are 1.25 cups. You can eyeball it, as long as you have two parts that are about twice as big as the other two parts.

FIVE: Switch to a whisk as your blending tool to inhibit accelerating trace. Color one of your 2.5 cup parts with Yellow Oxide and the other with Cappuccino Mica and three tsp. Orange Peel Powder. Color on of the 1.5 cup parts with Activated Charcoal and the other with Super Pearly White Mica.

SIX: Fill your wood log mold about 1/3 full with the Cappuccino and Orange Peel Powder Soap. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, pour the second layer with the Yellow colorant. Remember that you’re going to have some soap left over! We’ll take care of that in a moment.

SEVEN: Following the yellow layer, we are going to do a black and white swirly top layer! Pour a layer of Super Pearly White colored soap. Fill about half to three quarters of the space left in the mold after the first two layers. Then, take the black soap and with a slow but steady pour, create a thread of soap length wise in the mold. Keep in mind that the further your container is away from the soap, the deeper the black soap will penetrate the white; we don’t want the black soap so deep that it mixes with the yellow, so vary your pouring height a bit but not too much.

EIGHT: Once you have what looks like a striped top layer, take skewer, toothpick, or other tool and swirl the soap perpendicular to the stripes you just created. Make sure that your swirling tool isn’t going too deep, we don’t want to swirl the layer underneath the white and black!

NINE (BONUS SOAP!): I bet you’re going crazy wanting to know what to do with your leftover soap, huh? Well, here we go! At this point, the extra soap has had time to come to a nice, thick trace (it might need a quick mix with the whisk). Grab enough spoons so that each color has its own, then start plopping the soap by the spoonful into your loaf mold. That’s right, I said plop! This technique is nothing precise; just plop, plop, plop with the different colors. Plop some yellow here, black there, white on the side, just go with your gut until that mold is full. Ta-da! Bonus soap!

TIP: You might have enough time to use your swirling tool in your spoon plop soap, but we didn’t do anything after the last plop and we think ours turned out great!

TEN: Let the soap sit in the molds for 24-48 hours. Unmold and cut! The three layered soap will look pretty uniform throughout, but your spoon plop (swirl) soap should look different with each cut! Let cure for 4-6 weeks, and admire your hard work. Two soaps in one, how cool is that?

We had a very special guest at Otion for a 3 Day Private Soapmaking Lesson. We were able to cram a lot of soaping into the class because Ralph was such a quick learner. He was a natural at soapmaking and covered all the types of soapmaking, all the types of molds he could use (including a nifty Vertical Mold that hasn’t even hit the Bramble Berry product line yet!), all the types of colors to use (including herbal infusions) and experienced a wide variety of soap situations (diluting Labcolors, seizing soap, accelerating trace soap to name a few).

Ralph spent almost an entire day on all of the ins and outs of melt and pour soapmaking, culminating with swirling and layering. But before we did that, we did the freeform Gem Soap. Both batches turned out great
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Ralph also learned how to make lotions from scratch and do Liquid Soap, from scratch. All of his bottles turned out perfectly and he and I both breathed a sigh of relief when none of his fragrance oils seperated or did anything funky in liquid soap (as they are prone to do). You can make your own liquid soap from scratch; we’ve got an ingredients + video + e-book tutorial here.

Just a small sampling of the soap we made in 3 days

Our whipped CP soap, in-process

We had a really good time with Whipped Cold Process soap and everyone enjoyed the Cotton Candy Look of the project.

What better way to celebrate the end of the week than to see some of our newest fragrances arrive at Otion!

Blue Man is Bramble Berry’s strongly inspired version of of the popular men’s cologne, Aquolina Blue Sugar. The base note of Black Patchouli blends perfectly with Orange Peel, Sparkling Mandarin, Coriander Leaves, Star Anise and Venezuela Tonka. It’s surprisingly sweet and majorly masculine. Discolors to a light brown and does great in cold process.

I made a little melt-and-pour project for our display at Otion by cutting out little guys out of opaque soap with an exacto knife and embedding them in clear base with brilliant blue labcolor. The man in the middle sitting down worked the best because he’s actually blue from pouring a blue layer down first before setting him in there.

When the heat from the clear base hit the man cut-out, it created this really whimsical swirl in the soap while it set up!

Below are the little guys waiting to get blue. Even after chopping a bit off his legs, I still couldn’t get the little hat on the third one to fit in my mold.

This was really fun and opens the door to all sorts of cut-out ideas. Have fun and remember that you can easily cut any design you’d like with an exacto knife, a thin layer of soap and some patience. Oh, and some cardboard underneath to protect your table.

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

Now that you’ve made the perfect Father’s Day Soapy Project, I’m betting you’d like to match it up with a perfect Father’s Day card. We designed these two cards in-house at Bramble Berry and they are our gift to you. Thanks for being an awesome Soap Queen reader and community member. Here’s a free PDF that you can download and print out to make the cute little cards pictured above. And if you do find time this weekend to whip a another special gift, here are the Five Days of Father’s Day ideas:

Father’s Day is next month (Sunday, June 20th). Now is the time to make your cold process soap so it has time to cure for Dad’s big day!

Never made cold process before? No problem! Check out our beginning series to cold process on Soap Queen TV. Be sure to check out all of the (free) videos before diving in. Don’t miss out on the safety precautions and basic instructions.

ONE: Put on your gloves and goggles and make your lye water. Measure out 10 ounces of distilled water and mix in 4.3 ounces of lye. Remember to always add the lye to the water and never the other way around. Stir the lye water until the mixture turns clear and set aside.

TWO: Measure out all of your oils. In a large heat safe container, heat and combine the olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and jojoba oil. Give it a good mix.

THREE: Stir your shea butter into the oil mixture until is completely melts in. If shea butter gets too hot it tends to get grainy. I like to stir it in and have the heat from the other oils melt the butter.
FOUR: Let your oils and lye cool down. For this recipe, my oils and lye were both between 90°F and 100°F when I combined them (oils were 94°F and lye water was 98°F). While your oils are cooling, we have a couple of things to keep us busy, like lining your mold, measuring out your fragrance, and making a blue slurry for the swirl.

Line Your Mold: Use freezer paper to line your mold, shiny side up. Once your mold is lined add the side and end border pieces and put your inserts together so they’re ready for action.

Fragrance: In a small mug or bowl, measure out 2.8 ounces of Blue Man Fragrance Oil. I normally recommend .7 oz. to 1 ounce of fragrance per pound of cold process soap. I’m using a little more this time so it’s strongly scented (because I adore, love, love, love, strongly scented soap).

Blue Slurry: I learned this technique from Christy Rose of KBShimmer and love it. In a tall plastic container, combine ½ ounce of Jojoba Oil and ¼ tsp. of Ultramarine Blue Oxide. Mix together with a mini mixer or frother to break up all of the clumps. We’ll be adding some soap to this colorant later to swirl.

Fragrance: Measure out 2.5 ounces of Blue Man Fragrance Oil.

FIVE: Once your oils mixture and lye mixture has reached your desired temperature, it’s time to combine them. Slowly and carefully add your lye water to the oil mixture. Remember to “burp” your stick blender before turning it on.

What’s Burping? Burping gets rid of air bubbles. Give the stick blender a couple of taps on the bottom of the glass container while the head of the mixer is submerged in the liquid. The goal is to get the bubbles out of the head of the mixer before we start mixing.

SIX: Mix with your stick blender until you have a thin trace (like a thin pudding mixture). Then add 12 ounces of the soap batter to the blue slurry container and mix with your sick blender. Do not add any fragrance to this colored soap. Blue Man is a discoloring fragrance and we don’t want this part of the soap to discolor. Then hand stir in ½ tsp of Blue Jojoba Beads.

SEVEN: Add the Blue Man fragrance to the rest of the non-colored soap batter and hand mix with a spoon. Then add 2 mini scoops of Titanium Dioxide and 1/8 tsp of Super Pearly White Mica. Mix well with your stick blender. Don’t forget to “burp”!

EIGHT: Both soap batters should be at a light trace at this point. Pour half of the non-colored base into the mold. Then drizzle half of your colored soap in an “S” like pattern horizontally then again, vertically. Repeat with the rest of your soap batter.

NINE: In bigger molds I usually use a spatula or a spoon to swirl. Because this mold is so small, I recommend something smaller like a skewer. I actually used a dropper and the swirls turned out great. Swirl your soap in an “S-like” shape horizontally then again vertically.

TEN: Drop in the assembled dividers and pop the lid on. Let it rest for 24-48 hours before unmolding. Then let it cure for 4-6 weeks. Click HERE for unmolding tips.

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

It was Christmas morning here at Bramble Berry. We just got in three new fragrances that are must haves. I’m excited to introduce Zanzibar Spice, Mint Chocolate Chip and Monkey Love (a.k.a. ‘Banana’). We also just received our 18 Bar Baltic Birch Molds (a.k.a. ‘The Greatest Mold in the World’). They’re on the site and ready to order. And last but not least, our new soap stamps are here. Phew. It’s been a great (busy busy busy) day at Bramble Berry!

Zanzibar Spice: This fragrance is a hint on the masculine side but women will love using it too. You’re nose will first pick up on the Mandarin Leaf, Agave Nectar and African Lotis; then you’ll notice they’re perfectly paired with spices like cardamom, Nutmeg and Black Peppercorn. The dry base notes of Safari Sandalwood, Patchouli and Tonka Bean hold it all together for the perfect combination of “sugar and spice and everything nice”. This fragrance will discolor to a beige/brown. This fragrance has not yet been tested in cold process. We’ll keep you updated with the results.

Mint Chocolate Chip:Dish yourself up a bowl of Chocolate Chip Mint Ice cream and relax. Enjoy the scent of Pure Cane Sugar, Whipped Cream, Chocolate Truffle, Crème de Menthe, Peppermint Candy and Vanilla Brulee. It’s all rounded out with Tonka Bean, Musk and a hint of Butterscotch. Close your eyes and enjoy the sweet chocolate and energizing mint! This fragrance will discolor to a beige/ brown and has not yet been tested in cold process. We’ll keep you updated with our results.

Monkey Love: You’ll go “bananas” over our new banana fragrance oil. It smells just like banana candy (think banana Runts). This is by far the best banana fragrance that we’ve come across out of the bottle. You won’t be able to resist Ripe Banana notes combined with Brown Sugar, Churned Butter, Sugar Cane and Whipped Cream. Chopped Walnuts, ground Cinnamon and Clove Bud add the perfect addition to the monkey business. This fragrance will discolor to a beige/brown and has not yet been tested in Cold Process. We’ll keep you updated with the results.

18 Bar Baltic Birch Molds: Bramble Berry adoringly calls this “The Best Soap Mold in the World!” This 18 bar mold is made out of top grade Russian Birch Plywood and Mahogany and holds approximately 6 lbs of soap. Each mold is custom made and locally hand crafted here in Bellingham, Washington. All of the joints are glued and screwed together for excellent durability and the finish is a sanding sealer with several coats of lacquer on top giving it that beautiful glossed look.

Papaya Coconut Fragrance Oil: Take a tropical vacation with a Papaya Smoothie and Caribbean Coconut. Get lost in the fruity notes of White Nectarine, Mango Juice, Mandarin Balm and Yellow Starfruit. Vanilla Bean adds a sweet note that you can’t resist. Discolors to a light brown and does great in cold process.

Blue Man Fragrance Oil: This is a duplication of the popular men’s cologne, Aquolina Blue Sugar. The base note of Black Patchouli blends perfectly with Orange Peel, Sparkling Mandarin, Coriander Leaves, Star Anise and Venezuela Tonka. It’s surprisingly sweet and majorly masculine. Discolors to a light brown and does great in cold process.

Pink Safety Goggles: These fashion forward safety goggles are a cold process soapmaking necessity. They seal completely around the eye for optimum protection and come in a handy carrying case.

Surplus Blue LabColor: Here for a limited time only! This unique mixture of some of our recent experiments with LabColor blends will give a charming, if slightly unexciting, medium blue color.

ONE: Melt about two ounces of clear soap base and mix in two mini scoops of Vintage Gray Mica. Use the Injector Tool (or a dropper and a steady hand) to fill in the tires of the mold (or any other details you want black). Immediately rinse your injector tool in super hot hot water.

TWO: Melt one ounce of clear soap base and mix in one heaping scoop of Yellow Mica. Then fill in the inside of the tires and stripe on the side of the tractor (the details are up to you).

THREE: Melt about 9 ounce of clear soap base and add 4-5 drops of Liquid Green Oxide and .25 ounces of Fragrance Oil (your choice, I used Energy). Mix well. Spritz the soap in the mold with rubbing alcohol and fill up the mold with green soap, just up to the windows.

FOUR: Now it’s time to embed our Driver! Melt another 4 ounces of clear soap base. Spritz the green soap layer with rubbing alcohol and pour a thin layer of clear on top of the green. Liberally spritz the embeddable toy with rubbing alcohol and immediately place him/her in the clear soap so their heads are looking out the tractor window.

FIVE: Once the clear layer of soap has cooled, fill up the mold with the remaining green soap. Remember to spritz the clear layer with rubbing alcohol, first.

Layering Tip: When layering soap, make sure that your soap is no hotter than 125 degrees. Any hotter will melt the bottom layer of soap, making your lines a little bit messy.

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

Yes, this is a real product and it totally made me laugh out loud today (thanks for sending it, Dad). It’s particularly ironic given tomorrow’s celebration of women everywhere. Watch the funny YouTube commercial here (I hope it makes you chuckle too). So, if you’re a manly man and won’t admit to craving a bonbon or a truffle every once in a while, then this is the chocolate for you!

Here’s another one I just found: Pockey for Men at the Asian Food Grocer. Apparently it’s not as sweet as the original pocky. We women can handle our chocolate sweet!

The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

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